ROUND 2 OF THE NATC WAS A MILE-HIGH STUNNER AT HIGH PLAINS RACEWAY, COLORADO
May 9, 2022
It was a mile-high stunner at High Plains Raceway, Colorado, as Alessandro Di Mario (B&M American Racing Team) and Jesse James Shedden (Jesse James Racing) put on another great show for spectators and racers at the Motorcycle Racing Association (MRA) hosted round 2 of the North America Talent Cup (NATC).
Straight away Di Mario showed his speed by securing pole position in qualifying. Shedden was on pace, and Jayden Fernandez had home track advantage. With the points leaders all putting in very fast times, the stage was set for the weekend.
Californian, Jesse James Shedden came away from the opening round of the NATC with the full haul of 50 points after winning race one and race two in dominating fashion, but Di Mario showed he is going to be right on his heels all season.
RACE ONE
With high temps and decent wind, the conditions for race one offered a challenge for the super-lightweight RS250. After two red flags and the unfortunate high-side crash of Alex Enriquez (California Mini Grand Prix), the race was able to get underway. Di Mario got a great start and had already created a gap by turn one. With blazing race pace, Di Mario checked out and finished the race with the win and nine-seconds to spare. Jesse James Shedden and Jayden Fernandez (Fernandez Racing) battled the whole twelve laps with Shedden edging out Fernandez at the line by two-tenths. Shedden posted the fastest lap of the race with a 2:02.120.
Further down the order, Logan Cunnison (Speed Demon Racing) showed his potential as he swapped positions with Fernandez early in the race. Cunnison and Aiden Sneed (Aiden Sneed 613 Racing) rounded out the top five, with Sneed showing impressive speed and an entertaining aggressive style that is sure to be present in future rounds.
RACE TWO
After a tiring race one, race two was sure to test the resilience and determination of the young athletes. The conditions were slightly worse than the previous day with wind gusts up to forty mph. With qualifying from day one and setting the grid positions for both races, some racers had continued work ahead of them.
Race two saw Shedden get out front early but Di Mario stayed right on him for all twelve laps. The race was electric as Shedden and Di Mario put all their race craft and experience to work. It came down to the wire as Shedden made a mistake on the last lap and Di Mario made a pass in one of the last corners. Shedden managed to get back by Di Mario just before the finish straight and cross the line 0.085 ahead of Di Mario. Jayden Fernandez hung with the top two leaders in the race for the first six laps, but the slowly broke away. Fernandez ended up P3 in race two. Again, Logan Cunnison finished just off the podium. The fastest lap of the race went to Jesse James Shedden with a 2:01.799.
Jesse James Shedden leads the championship with 95 points; Alessandro Di Mario is in second with 77 points, and Jayden Fernandez in third with 56 points.
The next round will take place June 24-26 alongside MotoAmerica at The Ridge Motorsports Park in Washington.